she was cut here, here, here, here, cut and stabbed more than 25 times by a man who apparently left her for dead. >> he asked me, do you want to die? and i said, no. he was like, okay, because i don't have that much to live for. >> reporter: we call her valerie. we've concealed her face and her real identity. when you hear her story, you'll understand why. i spoke to her at the hospital where she's still recovering. valerie's 24 years old. she has two master's degrees from carnegie. last summer she got an apartment here at rhode island road. she moved to d.c. to begin a consulting career. but what happened to her last friday has changed her life forever. >> i screamed at the top of my lungs, and as i was trying to fight him, but he pushed me back hard. and i fell against the foyer. >> reporter: it was about 2:00

in the afternoon, valerie was working from home. there was a repeated knocking at her door. she opened it to see who it was. it was a man promising a party. he forced his way in. there was an attempted sexual assault and then an attempted murder. >> he started stabbing me and kicking my face in. and i was just fighting as best as i could. i don't remember that much following that. but i know he was just stabbing me everywhere. over and over again. >> reporter: the suspect, photographed by security cameras. the pictures are clear. and from her hospital room, valerie pleads for someone to tell police the name of this man. >> he's a sociopath that needs

help. and i don't want him to hurt anybody else. >> reporter: police chief kathy lanier's a frequent visitor to valerie's hospital room. she's moved by valerie's courage, outraged by this attack and driven to find this suspect. >> we've got to get the guy off the street. he thought probably that he had killed her. and left her there. i can't imagine he not doing this again if we don't get him. we have to get him off the street. >> reporter: please go to our website, take another look at that security tape. take another look at that man. if you know him, call police. 202-727-9099. or you can text them 50411. there is a $25,000 reward in this case. live in northeast, i'm pat

collins, news4. police chief kathy lanier also announced two new arrests in the brutal beating of a man near eastern market. lanier said the two men, along with three others, already arrested, are suspected in nine separate violent attacks in recent months. an attack in august left thomas maslin in a coma for six days. he is blind now in one eye. and he is still recovering. new developments tonight on the man wanted for allegedly bombing three northern virginia homes. police tell us alan stewart ii was just arrested near great falls, montana. he's accused of throwing bombs into three stafford homes earlier this week. he targeted an ex-girlfriend and two officers who arrested him in the past. officers in montana say stewart threw several pipe bombs at them when they tried to pull him over today. the financial toll from hurricane sandy could be more than double the estimates we

heard before it hit. new estimates today indicate the total cost could reach $50 billion. $30 billion in economic loes, and up to $20 billion in the cost for insurance companies. this estimate went up because of damage to new york subway system and the blocked roads that are keeping help out of so many communities. for the first time since sandy shut them down, all three of new york's major airports are up and running. you can see the flooding mess at laguardia just a couple of days ago. that airport now open with a limited schedule. both jfk and newark which had already opened on a limited basis, are expected to be in full operation by tomorrow. overall, flight cancellations as a result of sandy are now near 21,000. getting around new york is still a huge challenge. this was the scene in brooklyn today. thousands in line waiting to get on a city bus for a ride into manhattan. that line was four people deep. it literally wrapped around the block and most of them would normally be taking the subway into manhattan.

but that service is still quite limited. because of the emergency public transportation in the city is free of charge today and tomorrow. the other long lines we're seeing are the ones for gas. >> and just outside new york city, in manacay, new jersey, jim rosenfield is there for how long people are waiting to fuel up. >> reporter: it's a lonely job these days for manager muhammad edris in his station. open for business, but with no juice, it's no go at the pumps. >> we have no gas, nothing, you know. nothing inside the store business. completely shut down since monday at 6:00 p.m. >> reporter: just down the road on route 46 -- >> this is for my generator. just enough to keep my

refrigerator going, and a couple of appliances here and there that i might need. >> reporter: plenty of company at this hess station. this line in fort lee, about 45-minute wait. and that's not bad, if you look around elsewhere, the lines are a lot longer. this station here is pumping gas, because it has a generator. how long you been waiting? >> this is my second trip. i was here earlier this morning to fill up my pickup truck and get gas for the generator. and i'm here right now, probably about 20, 25 minutes. >> reporter: you're on e, pal. >> yeah, i've got 21 miles left. fortunately the gas pump's probably about a mile. >> reporter: it's a morning-long odyssey for many in search of fuel to drive. >> it's nuts. nuts. i tried all over the bronx to get gas and there was nowhere near me. >> reporter: or fuel to go. what are you going to do with this? >> throw in a little in the car,

and a generator at the office. >> reporter: come to this? >> again, i'm happy to be able to stand here and complain about it. >> rorter: jim rosenfield, news4. here in our area, it has been a gloomy day. temperatures at least 10 degrees colder than normal. we could use some sun and some warm air. storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer, what do you think? >> the warm air's not anywhere to be found, but the sunshine is. that's the good news. we are going to continue to get better and better as each day goes forth. right now, we are cool outside with plenty of cloud cover. winds out of the west at 7 miles per hour. a very chilly afternoon. we've even seen shower activity out there, too. you can see the showers coming through montgomery county, howard county, northern prince george's and anne arundel, and warrenton and fredericksburg. heads up, you may need the

umbrella for a short time. gaithersburg at 46 right now. 46 in winchester. 54 in culpepper. as we move on through the rest of the night tonight and into the overnight period, 44 at 9:00. 46 by 11:00. and temperatures tomorrow morning, down to about 41 degrees. most of you will be in the upper 30s tomorrow starting off very, very cool. the good news here, tomorrow, i think we see a lot more sunshine. we'll talk about it coming up. plus, the potential for another storm along the coast. >> thank you, doug. today new york city mayor michael bloomberg endorsed president obama for re-election. bloomberg cites the president's leadership on climate change. mitt romney visited virginia today, northern virginia bureau chief julie carey joins us with the countdown to election day. >> no surprise that both mitt romney and barack obama, final five day push for bring them to virginia. for romney, it was roanoke, the richmond area and virginia beach. the president returns to northern virginia to prince william county on saturday night.

the factory floor of a window and door company in roanoke was one of three virginia stops for mitt romney, but none bring him to northern virginia this time around. romney took time to encourage donations to storm relief effort, the sharp criticism of his opponent was back as he mocked his proposal to have several agencies under a secretary of business. >> we don't need a secretary of business to understand business, we need a president who understands business, and i do. >> reporter: president obama tried to strike a balance. acknowledging how politics were briefly put aside this week. >> there are no democrats or republicans during a storm. they're just fellow americans. >> reporter: but the president also returned to his main charge that a romney presidency would hurt the middle class. >> we know what change looks like. and what the governor's offering sure ain't change. >> as the candidates began their closing arguments in the

battleground, lines were long for absentee voting in fairfax county. this obama supporter doesn't think any storms will cause any major shift in the presidential contest but hopes there might be a slight lead for president obama. >> because of the storm, if i had to say something's going to get a bump, i guess it would be obama, because he's out front showing leadership, paying attention to the needs of the people. >> reporter: meantime, this romney supporter worries sandy might have sucked some momentum out of the race on both sides. >> momentum sort of disappeared. nobody was really thinking about it. nor did they care for a while. i think it hasn't come back to where it was before. whether that's going to have an effect, i hope not. because we need everybody to go out. >> coming up at 6:00, we'll hear from those voters and others about the decisions they made today, and what they think is going to happen in battleground virginia. we're just getting started on news4 at 5:00 tonight, he committed a crime, now how much

prison time will kwame brown get. it will be a real nerve-racking experience trying to get that child car seat installed correctly. liz crenshaw shows you how to do it right. i'm jackie bensen in northeast washington. a fire causes damage and confusion at the wholesale market near florida avenue. mark[ minto ] you know,nue. those ads saying mitt romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney

and i approve this message.

six days in jail, three years probation, that's the sentence federal prosecutors are recommending for former d.c. council quchairman kwame brown. he resigned from the council back in june, you'll recall, and pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in connection with a $200,000 in personal loans. he could be sentenced up to six months in prison for his crime. prosecutors wrote brown has accepted responsibility for his misconduct and has no prior criminal record. the actual sentencing by a federal judge is set for november 13th. as election day nears, the district is trying to correct early voting problems. this past week voters were fuming and standing in long lines for hours. tom sherwood was out reviewing the changes taking place today,

and here's that story. >> people want to vote. but long lines? not enough machines? well, at least things are better now. this long line in southeast washington saturday was just one of several polling places that were overwhelmed by voters anxious to cast ballots in this presidential year. too few voting machines for those who turned out. mayor vincent gray, who personally complained to elections officials, was still irritated by the snafus thursday. a caller to wtop radio also wanted answers. >> early voting was a disaster last weekend. >> i was out on saturday, and actually walked through a voting line. and it doesn't make sense people would have to be in line two and a half, three hours to early voting. >> reporter: d.c. election officials got the word. they spent the last few days hampered by the superstorm sandy, getting more machines in place. adding more chairs for senior citizens. and extending hours to 9:00 p.m.

to accommodate more voters. >> it took about 10 or 12 minutes to wait, and the voting is really fast. >> have a wonderful day. >> reporter: in columbia heights, there were more machines and more staff, and no long lines thursday in this culturally diverse section of washington. ward 1 council member jim graham was furious on saturday when he saw the long lines and limited voting machines. >> i kept asking, you know, you've got the machines, don't you? yes, they did have the machines. and yet they hadn't made them available. >> a list of voting places is on our website, nbcwashington.com. search early voting. it was so much better today. >> good. the process needs to get smooth. >> you have to be prepared for citywide voting. >> you want to wait indoors in a long line. it was chilly out there. >> real chilly out there. average high temperature 63 degrees. it makes for a beautiful fall

afternoon. 52 and cloud cover with sprinkles. makes for kind of a yucky day. that's what we've been talking about the last couple of days. sandy made its way onshore monday, but the remnants and low pressure aloft has been sitting and spinning around our region. that's what we're dealing with right now. only 52 degrees as the current temperature says. plenty of cloud cover. even a few showers. look at the numbers, only 48 in martinsburg, 46 right now in gaithersburg, and 52 in annapolis. fredericksburg coming in at 56 degrees. we're dealing with showers along i-95, from baltimore down through washington, back down towards fredericksburg and fairfax county, dulles airport, reston seeing some of that, bethesda seeing some of that rain. down to the south around fredericksburg, spotsylvania cut, seeing shower activity. most of this is very light. that's the way it's going to stay. i want to show you, you can

still see the spin in the upper levels of the atmosphere. you see the northwesterly flow bringing the chance of rain and more cloud cover. just back to the west, look at this. clearing skies. that is some much-needed sunshine for parts of the region. i think we're going to get into that sunshine during the day tomorrow. cool weather still here, and notice, it doesn't go anywhere. we still see partly cloudy skies tomorrow. i think more sunshine during the day. a few clouds but also some sun. rather breezy during the day with winds out of the northwest upwards of 15, maybe 20 miles an hour. tomorrow's going to be very cool. same deal goes for saturday. another breezy and cool afternoon. we'll see numbers still well below average by about ten degrees. so keep those coats out and keep them ready because we'll need them for quite some time. temperatures about 43 to 47 degrees. tomorrow morning, waking up to really chilly numbers, most areas in the 30s. tomorrow afternoon, mostly

cloudy, but some sunshine, too. breezy and cool. temperatures 49 to 54 degrees. those west winds at 15 to 20. once again, keeping things quite cold. 54 on saturday. set the clocks back saturday night. daylight saving time. right now, sunshine for the weekend. monday, tuesday, we'll be okay, tuesday, of course, the day we get out to vote. it looks like weather's okay there. it is wednesday that we're looking at yet another possible storm. and this one could once again be a coastal storm. we're going to be watching it very closely because if it does hit us and head up towards new jersey and new york, even a storm that would not normally affect people in a great way, is going to have a great impact. we're going to be watching this one closely. >> thank you, doug. when we come back, the sentence for the man who tried to blow up the pentagon and the u.s. capital. plus, five days and counting until election day. but voters aren't waiting. we're live for the early voting rush in maryland. we're going to turn the clock back about a decade.

take a look at the hall of fame performance against carolina in

anncr: it's said that character is what we do... when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

we're going back in time. >> yes, we are. >> darrell green, always good to see darrell green. he had many hall of fame moments, didn't he, dan. >> that he did, wendy. it is a huge game coming up for the redskins on sunday. dozens of redskins greats scheduled to be on hand. a chance also for the skins to get back on track against a bad carolina team. similar circumstances surrounded the panthers and redskins more than a decade ago when darrell green had a big part. let's go back in time with the latest edition of "redskins rewind."

october 21st, 2001. the defense delivers a spark to the season. an 0-5 start under marty schotten heimer had one glimmer of hope in the person of darrell green. the hall of famer made his first start of the year against the panthers and provided an inspiration al performance with seven so lo tackles. that inspiration did not spread to the other side of the ball right away. skins quarterback tony banks was having an awful day. prompting fans to serenade sonny jergen sen to come out of the broadcast booth and rescue the team. the panthers roll to a 14-0 lead early in the fourth quarter to have the less than faithful flee from their seats. >> he said, hey, man, y'all have got to score on defense. he said, no, go tell them. i wanted him to see me.

like he is my dad. marco said, score. >> reporter: the "d" heard loud and clear. on the next defensive series, chris' pass to headrington. the second year linebacker hits the jets and 67 yards later, the skins are down just seven, with ten minutes to prlay. it was the offense's turn to get it on the next play. banks, to perfection. to gardner, 85 yards, ties the game at 14. the two touchdown comeback took just six minutes and the momentum was mounting. with 41 seconds to go, brett conway's field goal is no good. and we're headed to overtime. on the third play of the extra session, banks hits rod gardner again. 52 yards for the apparent

touchdown and dramatic victory. but replays revealed he was down at the 4. conway's shot at redemption from 23 yards away is good. skins' first win of 2001, 17-14 over the panthers. >> you couldn't write a story that good. it's only our first win, but you know what, it sounds to me like sounds i'm thirsty to hear. i'm so happy we got it done. >> so after starting the season 0-5, that win against the panthers resurrected the season. the redskins finished 8-8. marty schottenheimer fired after just one season. >> i remember that. >> of course, after marty, came the wonderful tenure of steve spurrier. >> yes. >> thank you, hellie. coming up next, two -- day

two of long lines throughout maryland to cast votes. we'll be live with a look at voting in montgomery and prince george's county. the express lanes could be open in just two weeks. so just how does it work. the complicated hov lesson straight ahead. more former leaders at penn state face criminal charges that stem from the jerry

anncr: it's said that character is what we do... when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

fast forward through the headlines now. slow, but steady progress continues in new york city after the devastation from sandy. con edison says it will have power back on for everyone in manhattan by saturday. laguardia airport resumed a limited flight schedule today, and amtrak will restart some service tonight. there are still huge lines in the city for buses and ferries, with car traffic restricted. and the subway still flooded in lower manhattan. many drivers are also lining up

for gas at stations that still have electricity. former penn state president graham spanier, charges filed against him that include perjury, obstruction of justice and endangering the welfare of children. spanier said he is innocent. and will fight those charges. let's fast forward to the weather. doug? >> the weather out there today, very, very cool. it's not very often -- i guess we are in november. i was going to say not very often in october, but it is november 1st. so i guess it is often that we see a map like this with a lot of blue on it, it just doesn't happen this early. pittsburgh coming in at 39 degrees. a very cool atmosphere all courtesy of what's left of sandy as she moves out of here. the upper level trough continues to remain. that's going to give us more

northwesterly winds and continue on this cool pattern. we're going to see this cool pattern last right on through not only the weekend, but into next week. the good news is, i think we see some sunshine. coming up, we've got a lot of events coming up this weekend, including the redskins game. we'll give you the forecast in just a minute. tens of millions of americans lived through sandy's fury. they are now trying to come to grips with the destruction that that storm left behind, and in the still developing crisis, "rock center" looks at the lives, the neighborhoods, perspectives, before, during and after sandy. harry smith joins us live from new york to tell us about this. harry, i know you've seen a lot of devastation through hurricane coverage, tornadoes, the mississippi overflowing its banks, about ten years ago. is this the end of an era for these people along these coastal towns in jersey? >> boy, you know, around the shop here the last couple of days, i've been saying, this is what i expect, have grown to expect from places like florida, or gulfport, mississippi, or new

orleans. this is the kind of weather that seems like it goes with that part of the world. one of the things we learned is that the water in the western atlantic was five degrees above normal. that's part of the interview that went into this storm, that's causing damage that we're still learning about, even today. what my story is for "rock center" tonight, we went into lower manhattan where there's no power, hundreds of thousands of people with no power. it was quite astounding to see people make do. new yorkers are notoriously cranky. sometimes hard to get along with. but when push comes to shove, they figure out how to get along. it's a pretty cool story. >> that's amazing. is anyone bringing up the fact that, as you just mentioned, that the atlantic has gotten warmer, and of course, the climatologists have warned us about these storms? is anyone willing to talk now about global warming, and maybe rebuilding our coastlines in a smart way so that we can

withstand this? they're talking about another nor'easter coming in on wednesday. >> sure. yeah, well, richard engel has a piece about what would we do in terms of infrastructure for a place like manhattan. which is in fact an island. and the tidal surge that came in the other night, on monday night, the record was 11.5 feet. that was what the power company was afraid of. it came in two feet over that. how do you plan for things that have never happened before. so everyone who's ever had any kind of property on the coast knows that it's always going to be vulnerable. but there's got to be some real serious questions about infrastructure for places like manhattan that are built on an island. people have started having this conversation a couple of years ago, as the temperatures warmed up and as the sea levels have begun to rise. you worry about the far-flung islands out in the middle of the pacific, or indian ocean. but we're starting to feel the

effects of that right here in the northeast. >> it could definitely be the wakeup call that we needed. harry sbhimith, i look forward your story tonight. that's a special edition of "rock center." it is on at 10:00 tonight right here on nbc 4. thanks so much. >> thanks, wendy. early voting continues today in maryland and the lines are long, as thousands take advantage of early voting. news4's chris gordon explains the state has seen a record number of people vote early this season. chris? >> reporter: good evening. look at this long line behind me here at the oxen hill library. prince george's county polling place. the people here have been waiting an hour and a half, or more, and they're not even near the door. this is the first presidential election where maryland has used early voting, and the turnout is huge. the line for early voting goes from oxen hill road all the way around the library. and even when voters make it inside, they still have a long

way to go. >> i'll be late for work. but i have to vote. >> what about next tuesday? >> i can't do it next tuesday. this is my only option. thank god for early voting. >> reporter: the oxen hill library is the busiest of prince george's county five polling places for early voting. we had to ask the obvious question -- >> yes, it was worth the wait. the reason why, we have children, and we have generations coming behind us. >> i'll be out of the country on the 6th. i didn't want to chance not casting my vote. >> reporter: in montgomery county, the line and wait is much shorter at the bower drive recreation center. it only takes about 45 minutes to get inside and cast your vote. mary and jim mcdougal came carrying voter guides. >> the guide is very helpful.

the ballot itself was rather simple. >> reporter: turnout was heavy right from the start. this past sunday and sunday, voters were trying to cast ballots before hurricane sandy hit. >> between the two days, we saw about 23,000 voters at our five sites. yesterday, we had another 17,000 come out to vote. >> reporter: early voting in maryland was scheduled to end today, but because of hurricane sandy, closing the polls on monday and tuesday, governor martin o'malley extended early voting until friday, with extra hours. polls opened at 8:00 a.m. and closed at 9:00 p.m. here's the good news. if you get in line by 9:00, the election officials will mark the end of the line and you'll be able to vote. the polls will stay open if you are in line by 9:00. and then you have tomorrow. if you miss it tomorrow, you'll miss early voting. we'll see you election day next tuesday. chris gordon, news4. >> the news4 iteam is on voter

patrol between now and election day. if you see a problem with voting, we want to hear from you. call the tip line at 202-885-444. make sure to give us your name and number and where the problem is happening. next at 5:00, a popular market in the district. it goes up in flames. >> what you need to know to take advantage of the express lanes in northern virginia.

the fire at the old union market warehouse in northeast d.c. was massive. it started last night and smoldered well into this morning. today, several businesses are closed due to damage. jackie bensen joins us live with

the latest on the cause of this fire and how it's impacting business owners and nearby residents. >> reporter: i can tell you, that officials are being very tight-lipped about the possible cause of this fire causing it only undetermined. the internal layout of the nearly century-old building made the blaze a dangerous one for d.c. firefighters. the two-alarm fire which broke out about 10:00 p.m. wednesday caused extensive damage to four businesses, including an accessories wholesaler and large popular meat market. the building retains a very old sign that carried its original name, union market. that led to some confusion as to whether the structure that caught fire was the newly opened union market food hall a block away, the centerpiece of the neighborhood's ongoing revitalization. that building was unharmed. but the chaos of the road closures did affect the

businesses that remained open. >> when i come here, i usually come for the fresh fruits and vegetables. they're fresher. >> i just come here every couple of weeks. i decided to come today. >> i'm surprised to see it's closed. >> reporter: these businesses have experienced an increase in retail customers as new residents move into the neighborhood. fire investigators were on the scene well into the next day. fire officials were tight-lipped as to a possible cause of the blaze. >> we're still trying to determine the circumstances, so we're not prepared to say anything other than that at this time. >> reporter: now, many of the businesses in this area had to open late this morning because power had to be cut to the block. most of the power has been restored at this time. reporting live in northeast washington, jackie bensen, news4. when we come back, do you know how the express lanes are going to work? we'll have the answers. new details on a terror suspect's plot to blow up the pentagon.

liz crenshaw, car seat confusion. the one thing intended to keep your child safe can be a danger if you don't know how to install it.

let's get a final check on our forecast now. >> doug, we've got chilly weather out there. >> chilly. it's chilly. 52 degrees with cloud cover. it will stay on the chilly side, too. winds from the west at 7 miles an hour. add some sprinkles, it makes it feel even colder. sitting at 49 in reston, down toward huntingtown coming in at 52 degrees. shower activity around fredericksburg, king george county, stafford county seeing some of that rain, around culpepper, spotsylvania county. this is the area we're seeing some of the heavier rain, but right along i-95, columbia pike, from columbia down towards college park area, we're looking at shower activity there. heavier showers, too. also toward the anne arundel county, along 95, seeing pretty good shower activity. once again we're going to

continue to see these tonight. they're falling into a very cool air mass. so it's not a very pleasant evening. looking at the clouds continuing to come through. i think clearing skies as we move through the day tomorrow. overnight low, 35 in martinsburg, 46 in leesburg. a cool start to your friday morning and friday afternoon. i think with some sunshine, we will see a bit of a better day, but it will be rather breezy tomorrow, gusting 15 to 25 miles an hour. temperatures, 54 in gaithersburg, 53 in manassas. on sunday, this is how i want you to start your sunday. i want you to start your sunday, get up, walk down to the national mall or take the metro around 9:00 for breathe deep d.c. it's a 5k event. dress warmly at 45 degrees. after you're done with the walk, head over to fedex field for the game this weekend. the redskins taking on the panthers. temperatures, going to be in the

low 50s. a good day for football, i think, as the temperatures should be in the low 50s for the most part for the afternoon. partly sunny, cool, but nice. hopefully we walk out of fedex with a little bit of a win here. we can call this a win, at least for the weekend, saturday and sunday looking good under partly cloudy skies. remember, daylight saving time, set your clocks back one hour. as far as election day goes, voting day, 52 degrees. not a bad tuesday. clouds move in. and then we're watching out for a possible storm. coming up at 48 degrees on wednesday, possible rain and wind. we will talk much more about this storm, and the pattern that's unfolding coming up at 6:00. >> you've got our attention, doug. thank you. in a couple of weeks the new 495 spread lanes will hopefully bring relief to one of the nation's most congested commutes. drivers do need to prepare before the new lanes open. adam tuss is live for us in tyson's corner with a look at how we can all get ready.

adam? >> reporter: well, jim, the commute for hundreds of thousands of drivers here along the beltway in northern virginia is about to change. but does everybody understand how these express lanes will work? well, consider this express lanes 101. here are the main points about the express lanes on the west side of the virginia beltway. this is an all electronic toll road. no toll booths. you'll need an easy pass to ride. a toll gets tacked on to your easy paz. in exchange for the toll, you're promised a speedy commute, promising to move at 55 miles an hour, even during rush hour. the idea of some people being priced out, and traffic can keep moving, it could cost about a buck a mile. there is a way to get around the toll, start a car pool with three or more pool. >> if you want to car pool, get

that trip with three or more people for free, use the easy pass flex. there's a switch on the bottom. just flip it over to hov, and you'll be able to use these lanes without paying a toll. >> reporter: another question that gets asked a lot, where can you get that new easy pass flex. >> both virginia and maryland offer the easy pass flex. go to either of their websites or walk-in centers. go pick one of these up. >> reporter: there are punch list items still to wrap up here on the express lanes, but in just about two weeks, things will be ready to open. >> this is the biggest change to this traveling region since '66, when it opened up 30 years ago. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00, we'll tell you the plan to stop hov cheaters along these lanes. reporting live, along the beltway in tyson's corner, adam tuss, news4. >> thanks, adam. we'll turn to driving your children around. >> it's what you're transporting when you drive them in a car seat. the car seat that you put them

in, it is critical that is installed safely. liz crenshaw is here to tell you all about that. >> wendy and jim, car safety seats are designed to save a child's life and they've changed a lot over the years. they've become more complex, causing confusion when you put them in. most parents install them wrong. according to the national highway traffic safety administration. and one in five parents don't even read the directions. >> i didn't even attempt it. >> we did try. but i feel like it's wrong. of course, my husband thinks he did it right. >> reporter: car seat confusion. parents and caregivers trying to figure out the right way to install a car safety seat. the government says about 73% of parents install them incorrectly. that's the bad news. the good news, recent crash tests by the insurance institute for highway safety show car seats have reached a milestone. it recently gave top safety ratings to more safety seat models than ever before. but they only protect your child if you put them in properly.

>> you might not do it exactly right which we found out. >> reporter: check stations like this one at fitzgerald auto mall in north bethesda are held around the country. and the checks are free. >> see how that's twisted? we've got to get that straight. >> reporter: nationally certified car seat technicians teach parents the proper way to install the seats. >> turn this around. that looks good. this doesn't look good. >> a lot of times there are so many little details to look at, that it gives them great peace of mind when they come here and know it's done properly. >> the number one cause of fatalities for children between ages 1 and 13 is traffic crashes. it's a huge issue for us. >> reporter: david strickland is the administrator of the national highway traffic safety administration. >> not being properly belted in could be the difference between a child having no injuries and having a child have severe injuries. >> reporter: getting children properly belted is confusing. the safest seat depends on the weight and height of your child.

then there's rear facing, forward facing, booster seats, and how they hook into different models of cars is staggering. and regulations and safety standards have changed over the years. >> every time you introduce new technology, you introduce new ways to misuse seats as well. some of the modern conveniences for the car seats aren't available in the older models. so they knew what to do when we didn't. >> it's better to be safe than sorry. >> here's a tip on getting a seat that actually fits with your car. check with the manufacturer of the car you own. it might suggest a car seat to buy. to learn more about car seat safety and how to find one of the inspection stations near you, go to our website nbcwashington.com and search car seat safety. >> you want to be right on with this one. >> yeah. it's been a trouble since they invented car seats. it's always been difficult getting them installed properly. >> great stuff, liz. when we come back, new details on a terror suspect's plot to blow up the pentagon.

in just minutes tonight at 6:00, looters during hurricane sandy, they even hit the home of a governor. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed

and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

a man's plot to use model planes packed with explosives to blow up the pentagon and the u.s. capitol.

>> the terror suspect learned his punishment. keith russell is at the live desk in our newsroom. >> his name is reswan. he has the next 17 years in prison to think about his actions. sentence today in a massachusetts federal court, he was arrested last year after federal employees ruined his plot to use those remote-controlled planes packed with explosives to blow up the pentagon and the capitol. the 27-year-old pleaded guilty in july, and today after learning he'll spend the next 17 years in jail, he addressed the court saying he knows he'll experience his ups and downs and now his life feels colorless. his family continues to proclaim his innocence. the lead prosecutor said it's a good thing he was stopped before he could carry out his plan. live in the newsroom, keith russell, news4. right now at 6:00, the storm up in new york and new jersey,

struggling to get back on their feet after hurricane sandy. presidential campaigning kicked into high gear. again, the fight to win battleground states. means more visits to virginia. a young woman moved to d.c. to achieve her dreams. she's in a hospital now with a warning about a man who left her for dead. >> he was just stabbing me everywhere. over and over again. good evening, i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. the death toll from hurricane sandy went up in the last hour. more than 90 people are now dead as a result of the storm. 37 of them in new york alone. transit in that city remains a nightmare with gridlocked streets and very limited rail service. amtrak trains into the city are still suspended. while relief supplies are now reaching the jersey shore, many communities there are still in crisis. jay gray reports now from toms river, new jersey. >> reporter: with the damag